Zosterops virens
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Cape white-eye (Zosterops virens) is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is native to southern Africa. It is commonly found in suburbia, parks and gardens, besides a variety of mesic to well-watered habitats.
These subspecies interbreed where they come into contact. The Orange River white-eye (Z. pallidus) has been split from the Cape white-eye. This species is about 12 cm long with rounded wings, strong legs, and a conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eyes. The upperparts are green, and the throat and vent are bright yellow.
They are very vocal, and constantly keep in touch with soft trilled pee, pree or pirreee call notes. The song consists of repeated long jerky phrases of sweet reedy notes, varying in pitch, volume and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Cape White-eye sighting in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 59 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 108 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and September–October
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Cape White-eye in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, against about 30% in February and June, the lowest months. March has too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape White-eye sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Cape White-eye sightings, Golden Gate Highlands National Park ranks 3rd at about 50%. The best odds are in Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 70%) and Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Cape White-eye that you can see in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Pied Starling (about 70%), Red-winged Starling (about 70%) and African Stonechat (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape White-eye is recorded against all the birds logged in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (59 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
